First-time buyers will find an astounding array of showhouses - 14 in all - at a new launch aimed primarily at the supply-starved Dublin starter market. No less than 70 different designs from four major house-builders are on offer at Tyrrelstown, Dublin 15.

Fingal County Council have pulled out all the stops to expedite construction at the 200-acre site, one of the largest to be developed in the Dublin area for some time.

Prices are competitive. One and two-bedroom apartments selling from plans start at £99,950 (€126,910) and £119,000 (€151,100). Two and three-bedroom townhouses from £129,950 (€165,000) and £139,950 (€177,700) should prove popular with first-timers.

Further up the price scale, there are three-bedroom semis from £149,950 (€190,400), three-bedroom detached houses from £160,000 (€203,160) and three-storey four-bedroom houses from £167,000 (€212,050). A few five-bedroom houses are selling off plans from £185,000 (€234,900)

Sizes range from 429 sq ft for one-bedroom apartments, up to 1,350 for three-storey four-bedroom houses. The average two-bedroom mid-terraced house is around 785 sq ft.

All of the above are available in a variety of designs, so visitors will need to allow plenty of time for viewing. Joint selling agents Leahy Property Consultants and McPeake Auctioneers are handling sales at two separate show complexes.

The developers McInerney, Kranok, TwinLite and Merville Homes, are all builders with impressive track records. Solid interior fittings and good quality fireplaces and kitchens are standard in all the houses.

Pine wall-to-wall French doors opening to timber decks in some of the showhouses should prove a winner. Brightly painted houses with a Mediterranean look are particularly appealing.

The new development is located between Tyrrelstown and Hollystown golf courses, about eight miles from the city centre and close to the new Blanchardstown Institute of Technology. A thick belt of deciduous trees on the western and southern boundaries are to be preserved.

To complement the scheme, a 14-acre village centre is planned for Tyrrelstown, providing a small supermarket, creche, restaurant and all the necessary local shops for what will eventually be a sizable community.

Of the 120 houses to be sold in this first launch, there are 22 four-bedroom houses and the rest are equally distributed between the different sizes and styles.

Exterior finishes include red-brick, render and dry-dash, with terracotta and ochre-painted houses adding a splash of colour.

Main avenues through the estate are laid out in boulevard fashion, with the road, cycle and walkways separated by grassy verges planted with sycamores. There is discreet off-street parking behind the houses.

Houses sold in phase one will be ready to move into from early October onwards.

The 14 showhouses will be open from Saturday and every day thereafter for the first two weeks, from 2.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.